The House voted 90-30 to approve a reconciled version of the measure, just a few hours after the Senate backed it on a 28-10 vote (Hanna, AP/Wichita Eagle, 4/6). The bill states that life begins "at fertilization" and that "unborn children have interests ... that should be protected." The language is similar to "personhood" measures in other states, which aim to outlaw abortion (Hanna, AP/Salt Lake Tribune, 4/7).

The Kansas bill also would ban abortions sought based on the sex of the fetus and require physicians to tell women that abortion carries certain risks, including the inaccurate claim that it raises a woman's chance of developing breast cancer.

In addition, the bill would prohibit tax deductions for abortion and strengthen a law barring medical residents at the state's medical school from participating in abortion care on state time. The measure also would prevent groups that offer abortions from providing sex education or sex ed materials for public schools (Women's Health Policy Report, 4/3).

Women's Advocates Criticize Measure

If signed into law, Kansas would become the eighth state -- behind Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, North Dakota and Ohio -- to declare that life begins at conception, according to Elizabeth Nash, state issues manager at the Guttmacher Institute. Although the measure would not supersede Kansas law banning most abortions after 22 weeks of pregnancy, the language could be used to implement strict abortion restrictions in the future.

Nash said, "It's a statement of intent," adding, "Should the U.S. Supreme Court overturn Roe v. Wade or should the court come to some different conclusion, the state legislature would be ready, willing and able to ban abortions."

Elise Higgins, Kansas coordinator for the National Organization for Women, criticized other provisions of the bill. She said that removing tax deductions would amount to tax increases for providers, women and their families. Even abortions to save a woman's life would not be considered a deductible cost under the bill, she added.

Further, Higgins called the bill's requirement that women be told of a possible link between abortion and a later risk of breast cancer an "obvious intrusion into the doctor-patient relationship by making them get this inaccurate information" (Murphy, Reuters, 4/6).

Video Round Up

An Interview with Justice Ginsburg on the State of Abortion Access

In a rare interview, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg tells MSNBC's Irin Carmon it is a "crying shame" that state abortion restrictions are making the procedure increasingly "[i]naccessible" to many low-income women. Watch the video

Datapoints

A Look at Abortion Coverage in the ACA's Marketplace Plans, Repro Health Report Card, More

This week's charts depict why abortion coverage is unavailable in many states' ACA marketplace plans for 2015. We also feature a national reproductive health report card and an interactive look at abortion restrictions in Missouri. Read more

At A Glance

"[Roe v. Wade] protects a woman's freedom to make her own choices about her body and her health, and reaffirms a fundamental American value: that government should not intrude in our most private and personal family matters."

— President Obama, commemorating the 42nd anniversary of Roe v. Wade. Read more